The Homeland Security agency known as ICE is being renamed to support its investigations

When federal agents raided the home of rapper Sean “Diddy” Combs last month — as part of a case in which Combs denies wrongdoing — it was not the FBI, but rather agents from Homeland Security Investigations, or HSI, who took the lead. .

That put the agency, a division of the Department of Homeland Security, in a new spotlight.

But HSI has long been known to those who follow immigration-related law enforcement because of its ties to its parent agency, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, something that HSI is now trying to change.

The agency is undergoing a rebranding on Tuesday, changing their website from associated with ICE to just HSI.gov.

That reflects a deliberate push to distance HSI’s work from immigration policy, which has increasingly fueled Democratic attacks on ICE and prompted some cities, counties and states to adopt so-called “sanctuary” policies to prevent cooperation with ICE officials regarding a suspect’s immigration status. .

“Many of our stakeholders are our law enforcement partners, the American public, private sector partners, NGOs – (they) are often confused about what we do, and the civilian immigration enforcement side of the ICE mission is not what HSI does. HSI Executive Associate Director Katrina Berger told ABC News in an interview.

“Because we are branded ICE and have an ICE email address, we are often unable to work with law enforcement agencies in certain jurisdictions that do not work with ICE, often college campuses and schools,” Berger said.

The rebranding is a better opportunity for HSI to educate the public about what they do — and keep criminals off the streets, Berger said.

HSI’s mission is broad, officials note, from preventing terrorists from entering the country, to identifying and supporting victims rescued from child exploitation situations, to stopping financial fraud and the flow of counterfeit goods.

“We’re focused on our mission, which is the global investigation of transnational crime that impacts our communities, and that’s really lost there,” Berger said. “We are a criminal law enforcement agency.”

HSI will still fall under ICE, but the new identification distance will help with public outreach, according to Berger.

One of HSI’s core missions is to “better educate teachers, children and teens about many of the bad things that can happen online to child predators,” she explained. “I think (rebranding) is a big step forward.”

“We’re just able to brand ourselves independently to better show people exactly what we’re doing to protect the American public,” she said.

Berger said Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas authorized the rebranding, which could be a morale boost for officers.

“It gives us more opportunities to work better with our partners or communities,” she said.